1. continue to live or exist, especially in spite of danger or hardship: "against all odds the child survived"Similarremain alivelivesustain oneselfcling to lifepull throughget throughhold onhold outmake itkeep body and soul togethercontinueremainlastpersistendurelive onpersevereabidego onkeep oncarry onstay aroundlingerbe extantexistbe
▪ continue to live or exist in spite of (an accident or ordeal): "he has survived several assassination attempts"
▪ remain alive after the death of (a particular person): "he was survived by his wife and six children"Similaroutliveoutlastlive (on) afterlive longer thanremain alive after
▪ manage to keep going in difficult circumstances:"she had to work day and night and survive on two hours' sleep"
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French sourvivre, from Latin supervivere, from super- ‘in addition’ + vivere ‘live’.